RAMA, ONT.–With a single Hail Mary overhand left, Fashung 3K Battery nearly toppled an industry.

The shot crashed against champion Steve Molitor's jaw midway through the seventh round of their IBF super bantamweight title bout last night, silencing the sellout crowd and putting Molitor in danger.

Along with his promoters' plans to use him to build the Rumble at Rama series into a franchise – they've already booked him for a January date at the casino.

And Molitor's dreams of outboxing the three other super bantamweight champs on his way to dominating the division.

Molitor stumbled to the ropes and fell back onto the second strand, then sprang instantly to his feet, and shot a puzzled look at the referee, as if he couldn't believe he'd eaten such a clean shot.

Even 3K Battery seemed stunned. No knockdown was called, but he paused anyway.

And when the action resumed Molitor went back to scoring points behind a sharp right jab, stinging shots to the body and overhand lefts that wobbled 3K Battery, but never dropped him.

After 12 rounds Molitor, a Sarnia native who lives and trains in Mississauga, had earned a unanimous decision, losing scarcely a round. Two judges scored the bout 119-109, while a third scored it 120-108.

The scorecards underscored Molitor's overall dominance, for a few long moments in round seven.

"Your heart takes a bit of a jump," said promoter Allan Tremblay. "But everything was good."

The shot might have hurt Tremblay more than it did Molitor.

"He it me with a clean shot, but I wasn't hurt at all," said Molitor, now 25-0 with 10 knockouts.

"He was a big puncher and he was a game fighter. I've got to give him all of the credit."

The bout was Molitor's second defence of the title he won last November, and his first decision victory after four straight knockouts.

Midway through round two Molitor and 3K Battery circled each other cautiously, contemplating punches but throwing none.

"Come on, ladies!" shouted one spectator. "Let's fight!"

But while the crowd wanted blood, Molitor gave them boxing.

As 3K Battery pressed forward with his gloves held high, Molitor dug shots to his body and threw jabs that crashed against his opponent's forehead.

He came closer to breaking his hands on 3K Battery's skull. Despite taking clean shots for 12 rounds 3K Battery never came close to hitting the canvas, while Molitor arrived at the post-fight press conference rubbing his swollen left hand.

"Every time I flicked a jab and hit him in the forehead, there was a lot of pain for me," Molitor said.

http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/271257

Molitor defeats Fashung 3K Battery at Rama

10/28/2007 12:34:09 AM

ORILLIA, Ont. - The swollen forehead above the nose and the sore hands reminded Steve Molitor that he's not infallible.

He had to battle for everything he got Saturday night.

"It was probably about a B-minus, maybe a C-plus," he said of his performance. "I didn't fight to the best of my abilities."

The Canadian Kid was his own worst critic after a unanimous decision over Narongrit Pirang of Thailand that allowed him to retain the International Boxing Federation junior featherweight championship.

"I was kind of flat-footed," he said. "I wasn't my usual self.

"I was looking for a knockout."

It was the Thai, known as Fushang 3K Battery after changing his name to promote a sponsor, who nearly got the knockout.

Chris Johnson, Molitor's trainer, wasn't being as hard on his fighter as Molitor was on himself.

"He was very tactical, he moved, he used his jab, he hit the body," said Johnson. "What else can you ask for?

"It's not every fight you can knock a guy out. I thought he was awesome."

Molitor improved to 25-0. The Rumble At Rama II triumph was the second in as many title defences for the 27-year-old native of Sarnia, Ont., who lives in Mississauga, Ont.

The 33-year-old challenger slipped to 58-9-1. He came in ranked seventh among IBF challengers in the 122-pound weight class.

"He's a big puncher," said Molitor. "He wanted my title and he kept coming forward.

"I have to give him credit. He's a tough customer. He took some big shots but he maintained his energy throughout the whole fight. But I still got the W and that's all that matters."

The boxers spent the first two of the scheduled 12 rounds feeling one another out.

The five-foot-seven Molitor landed a right jab-left hook combination in the middle of the third, and caught the five-foot-six Thai with a right to the face two minutes in. Molitor landed another solid right just before the bell.

He was dodging the roundhouse lefts that 3K Battery was launching.

Molitor caught the Thai on the chin with a quick right two minutes into the fourth. He was upping the tempo.

It was in the fourth or fifth that he hurt his right hand, Molitor said afterwards.

Molitor predicted during a new conference Tuesday that he'd knock out his opponent in the sixth round, but 3K Battery was too tough a customer to put away that quickly. He'd knocked out 35 previous opponents.

The southpaw landed one of his lefts to send Molitor backwards against the ropes midway through the seventh.

"I was off balance," Molitor said afterwards. "He gave me a clean shot but I wasn't hurt at all."

Molitor came back strong in the eighth, smashing the Thai with a stinging right and landing a hard left a few seconds later.

The 10th belonged to Molitor.

The challenger would have to knock out the champ to grab the title, and time was running out. If he was hoping Molitor would tire, he'd have a long wait.

Molitor rocked 3K Battery with a left hook with 45 seconds left. The two gave it all they had during the last 30 seconds but neither could land a knockout punch.

Molitor is expected to fight again in January and again in April, probably at Rama both times, says manager James Jardine, who is manoeuvring him into position to challenge the champions in his weight class of the other worldwide boxing organizations.        

http://www.tsn.ca/boxing/news_story/?ID=221600&hubname=boxing